Puzzle and carrier device



:- Sept. 8, 1953 'l. H. STEINHARDT 2,651,522

' PUZZLE AND CARRIER DEVICE- Filed April 9, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR G I. Huntley Siein handt 5' wig ATTORNEY Sept. 8, 1953 1. H. STEINHARDT 2,651,522

PUZZLE AND CARRIER DEVICE Filed April 9, 1947 Y z Sheets-Sheet 2' v m v L INVENTOR liHar iley Sieinhardi BY V I ATTORNEY Sept. 8, 1953 1; H. STEINHARDT 2,651,522

PUZZLE AND CARRIER DEVICE Filed A ril's. 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR IlHaPiZey Sieinhafldt ATTORNEY BYZ Patented Sept. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a puzzle and carrier device and it particularly relates to a novel animal puzzle and carrier device, which may be utilized as a key chain or in other connections where chains are employed.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a novel chain carrier in which one or both ends of the chain may be readily mounted by engagement of interfltting or interlocking block elements.

Another object is to provide a novel puzzle construction in which a series of interfitting or interlocking elements may be successively or in sequence or in subassemblies fitted together to form an animal, such as a dog, the assembly and disassembly of which may constitute a puzzle.

A further object is to construct a novel key chain in which the ends of the chain are held a puzzle device substantially assured against disengagement except upon solving of or disassembly of the puzzle.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most satisfactory to form a plurality of successively or sequentially interlocking or interengaging body members which when all finally fitted together will form a familiar shape, such as an animal or dog. The blocks are preferably fitted into one another in diiferent direc-- tions and then are finally locked in position by a final element which may take the form of a wedge or yoke.

The final element itself, or the final element and/or other elements may have recesses to engage the end or ends of a chain which recesses are closed or locked by contact with adjoining interfitting or interengaging elements.

In one embodiment the dog is composed of at least two side body elements which may, if desired, engage one end of, the chain and also a yoke element serving as a final locking element adjacent the front end of the animal. Said yoke element may engage one or both ends of the chain and hold the chain in position. The two body elements may be assembled with one or more elements forming the tail or legs or shoulders of the completed animals. Normally one of the side body elements forms the base element and the other elements are successively mounted thereon and on the resultant subassemblies by sliding movement from the top, side, rear or front until the final assemblage is obtained.

The invention also consists in certain new and original features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed and as to its other objects. features and advantages, the mode of operation and manner of its organization, these, inter 'alia, may be better understood by referring to the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof in which:

Fig. 1 is a side right elevational view upon a somewhat enlarged scale of the assemblage, showing a dog with a chain;

Fig. 2 is a left hand side elevational view on the opposite side from Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view from the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view from the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view from the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view from the line 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a top perspective view of the assemblage with the final yoke locking element removed from the assemblage;

Fig. 8 is a top perspective view of the left hand body or base element Fig. 9 is a top perspective View of the next element to be assembled, namely left back element;

Fig. 10 is a top-perspective view of the right back-tail-left rear leg element;

Fig. 11 is a top perspective View of the right body element from its right outside face;

Fig. 12 is a top perspective view of the inside face of the right body element; 7

Fig. 13 is a top perspective view of the front left leg-right rear leg element;

Fig. 14 is a top plan view of the final yoke or right front leg-shoulder element receiving the end of the chain fitted into the chain recess therein;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view upon the line l5|5 of Fig. 8 upon an enlarged scale as comparedto Fig. 8 showing the chain receiving recess;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view upon the line l6-I6 of Fig. 14 and upon an or casting the individual elements of the dog or other puzzle, Fig. 23 being a front fragmentary elevational view and Fig. 24 being a side fragmentary elevational view of Fig. 23; .and

Fig. 25 illustrates in side elevational vi'ewjthe' retainer principle applied to thei end or a ball chain, as may be used for an electric light chain,

zipper or slide fastener pull chain and so forth.

As shown best in Figs. 8 to 14, the animal, which in this instance'is a dog, is made up pf the left body element A, the'left back element B, the right back-left rear leg-tail element C, the right body element DQthe left front-right rear leg element ,E and'the right front leg elementF'.

In a typical construction these are preferably molded of differently colored plastic materials, and. for example, may respectively be formed of green, orange, red, white, blue and yellow colored plastic materials.

These elements may. be joined together to form the assembled animal, as shown in Figs. 1 to 6 and Figs. l'7to 22 with thekey chain G, shown as of the ball type, en ag d recesses In i the flat inside face 1-5 of element' F at one'end II and in recesses l3 and I4 onthe inside fiat containing faces'land ll of thefbody elements A and D respectively. Therecesses are sufliciently deep to receive the entire balls. 18 of the chain G as shown in Fig l i. The balls 18 (see Fig. 16) are correctly positionedfby (the intervening webs to, the recesses '20 therebetwe'en receiving the stems 2 connecting. theballs, l8. T he flat faces 22, 23, 24 and Z5 o'f'elements E, D, A and B respectively. (see, Figs. 8.170 14), willc'oritac't the fiat face 15 of elementF to holdtheballs iBinplace.

The recesses 13 "and T4 are'jimly suiiici'ently deep to receive /2 the balls l8so that'the balls will be engaged by both elements A and D. The depths of recesses l3 and are sufficient to completely receive the balls [8 and permit faces l6 and ii to contact in the final assembly.

The chain G may take other forms and shapes than shown, and the recesses H), l3 and I4 may be placed in other elements than A, D and F in order to achieve the desired result of having the chain G assembled in the device with the assembly of the elements A to F.

In respect to the elements A to F and describing them in disassembly order from F to A respectively, the element F of Fig. 14.- may be withdrawn in direction 35 (see Figs. 7 and 17). The upward extensions 36 and 3'! of Fig. 14 respectively carry the end E0 of the chain G and form the exterior right shoulder of the assembly. Between the extension 35 and 31 is embraced the element D. The post 35 at its front face39 contacts and closely fits against thevface 4| of the body element D. The right side face 42 of the post 36 closely contacts the faces 43 and 45 of the elements B and E. The left side face 46 of the post 36 contacts the faces 41, 48 and 49 of the elements E, A and B respectively. K v

The top face 50 projects through and form part of the back H of the animal assembly (see Fig. 22). The step 5| of the element F fits into the recess 52 of the element E forming a final assembly lock.

The element E slides out in the direction (see Figs. '7 and 21) and it has the offset right and left sliding engagement ribs 61 and B2. The engagement 6! fits into the recess between the facet?! of the element 3 andthe face 6.4 of the element 13. (see Fig. 6) while therib e2 fits into the recess 65 in the element D. The corner 66 fits -.-into the recess formed by the faces ill and B8 of elements D and E respectively (see Fig. 5). The locking key't't (see Fig. 2) fits into a recess 10 in the element C. The bridge H fits against the bottom faces 72 and 13 of the element A and D (see Figs.'8 and 11.)

At stage of disassembly, the elements C and'Dmay be successively separated by movement in direction 8! of Fig. 20 from the subassembly of elements A andB.

Referring to Figs. 'llland 20, the element?) may first be removed in'the' -direction8l 'from the assembled CDmblIl'atiOh o'f'elenints 3A, B and C. The element D a's'shown in "Fig. 11 has'i erfical recesses 8'2 and "83 for races/meme posts-84 of element C andfii'i 'of element F. It also the "recess 85101 receiving the bridg sfi of the element 13 (see Fig. 9). Thenose projecti'qii 81 acts as an assembly key to lit-into the recess 88 in the element A (see'Fig. 8) t The element "(3 men may next -be 'r'emeved'fin direction 18} isee'Figs. I9 and 2G).' The element C has the recess 35 between the'br idgetfi and the tail and leg sectiorisfifi and '9"? which receives the end projections 98 of the element D (see Figs. 5 and 12) andfifi of element A. The recess fI'OB forwarder the element C receives the inwardextension iii of the-element-D seeFig. 12). The recess '1 2.2 below the ledge Hi3 receives the corner edge H34 of theelement B. 1

Inrespect to element 3 of FigI S the element B may be removed from element A in the directi-o'n' i It). The recess 1 l I receivesthe' tongue H2 of the element A, while the corner recess I 13 "re ceives the corner projection '1 l4 of the element A (see also Fig.2). The recess H5 receives the section H5 of'the'element A. I Tneislem n A of i 1 ha ces e 2 m iEE'and i2! which respectively receivthe bridge sa theelement c, the post 36 of element F a d t or 2 of e mentC- T e cementecess "l 29 of element A receives the corner proj'ec tion I39 of the'elemen't B of FigfiQ.

in assemb age, the eleme ts isfirstfitt'ed onto the e'le nent' A assh'ow'n in Fig..flj8, and the'qther elementsC, D, and F are successivelyfittedjnto position: as indicated by the .stippledlelefli nts. Each element'will loclgitself by its .projectionsfand recesses keyingthemselves to therecessesfand projections of the preceding. ,or following elemeets n's 'jby the final insertion of the yoke shapedweds m tlfx Iie-QhainG is shown of the ball t'Yba'but may also be o'ffthe. chai 'it pe or of otherconstructions andtheiendsorthechain'e may be'attache'd t0. o1 1e' element-instead of, two or three as shown. The interlockingfpuzzle block may also be used brotherchains'than'keychains. V I

i As a guide to as'ser'nblag e, f mine .s fihlas Spunky maybe applied to the individual "ele me nts A to? by placing a single letter on'ea'ch piece preferablybn a surface to be concealdby the assembly. For example fS'-'may' be'ap'pliedto elem'e'nt'A '(See Figs. 1'8 findiQ); P maybe aip plied to element B (see Figs. 9 and 18), U may be applied to element C (see Figs. 10 and 19), N may be applied to element D (See Fig. 12), K may be applied to element E (see Fig. 13), and Y may be applied to the element F (see Fig. 14) The letters are shown on invisible faces of the elements A to F and may be at the top of knockout pins used in the molding operation. By following the sequence of the letters it is possible to assemble the variou elements in order as indicated in Figs. 18 to '22.

In Figs. 23 and 24 is shown diagrammatically, the manner of molding the individual elements A to F to enable close fit without interference from the gate or inlet, where the thermoplastic resin, such as cellulose acetate, styrene or methyl methacrylate is supplied. The pieces A to F on their inside faces are provided with grooves or recesses 212 of any desired shape below the adjoining surface which contacts another piece. The gate or entrance of resin to the recess of the mold is at this depressed point. The integral gate 2 [3 with the straight edge 2M and inclined edge 215 will feed the bottom 2| i of the recess 212 directly, and When broken off will eliminate the need for burnishing or cleaning the pieces since the break will be below the contacting inside face H8 and will be in a recessed portion 2l2. This method of thermoplastic molding may be broadly applied to assure close fit of plastic molded pieces and avoid need of laboriously cleaning pieces after final molding.

In Fig. 25 is shown a one piece chain retainer generally useful to lamp pull chains, slide fastener pull chains and so forth. The main element 225 has a conical outside face 227 with a recess receiving the insert 226. The insert 226 has the recess 233 receiving the chain end 230 which passes through the opening 232. The recess 233 extends along the axis of the structure of Fig. 25 and has a plurality of pockets 23! to receive the balls of the chain 230 as shown in Figs. 8, 12, 14, 15 and 16. If desired other engaging means may be provided in the adjacent faces 228 and 229 to keep the element 226 lodged in the recess 229 in the element 225.

As many changes could be made in the above puzzle and carrier device and many widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A puzzle assemblage comprising a plurality of six interlocking molded plastic parts each forming part of the structure, each of said parts having a sliding connection in respect to each of said other parts and each of said parts being mounted in sequence upon preceding assembled parts by a sliding movement, said parts being assembled in a predetermined sequence to form an object having a curved exterior, and each of said parts having projections and recesses, which take the form of inwardly and oppositely projecting leg members with separating grooves, said leg members and said grooves being of rectangular cross section and said legs and grooves on one side of each of said parts fitting into and engaging correspondingly shaped recesses and legs on the previously assembled parts, at least two of said parts having a plurality of recesses on an inside face thereof, and a chain the end of which is received in said recesses and which is locked in position by said inside face being contacted against an inside face of another of said parts.

2. A puzzle assemblage comprising a plurality of six interlocking molded plastic parts each forming part of the structure, each of said parts members and said grooves being of rectangular cross section and said legs and grooves on one side of each of said parts fitting int-o and engaging correspondingly shaped recesses and legs on the previously assembled parts, at least two of said parts having a plurality of recesses on an inside face thereof, and a chain the end of which is received in said recesses and which is locked in position by said inside face being contacted against an inside face of another of said parts, the inside faces of each of said parts being provided with grooves covered by an adjacent part which grooves carry the gates which may then be broken off below the contacting inside faces of said parts.

I HARTLEY STEINHARDT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 919,026 Knapp Apr. 20, 1909 1,189,527 Barnhart July 4, 1916 1,578,940 Wacha Mar. 30, 1926 2,178,190 Steinhardt' Oct. 31, 1939 2,398,011 Kaplan c Apr. 9, 1946 

